Henry Gross II and members of his family that include L to R son David Gross, wife Nancy Gross, son Author Gross with his dog Otis and cousin Louise Milford have been 49ers season ticket holder since 1950 and have attended all three Super Bowls and playoff games Saturday March 10, 2012.

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

Henry Gross II and members of his family that include L to R son...

Image 2 of 8

Henry Gross II and members of his family have been 49ers season ticket holders since 1950 and have saved memorabilia for years Saturday March 10, 2012.

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

Henry Gross II and members of his family have been 49ers season...

Image 3 of 8

Al Guido, vice president for new stadium sales and service with the 49ers, shows a rendering at the team's New Stadium Preview Center in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

Al Guido, vice president for new stadium sales and service with the...

Image 4 of 8

Henry Gross II and members of his family have been 49ers season ticket holders since 1950 where he attended home games at Kezar Stadium as well as all three Super Bowls and playoff games Saturday March 10, 2012.

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

Henry Gross II and members of his family have been 49ers season...

Image 5 of 8

John McVay, former 49ers general manager, stands among stadium renderings at the team's New Stadium Preview Center in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

John McVay, former 49ers general manager, stands among stadium...

Image 6 of 8

Al Guido, vice president for new stadium sales and service with the 49ers, gives a tour of the team's New Stadium Preview Center in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011. The screen at right replicates the view from different areas of the stadium so ticket holders can evaluate seat choices.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

Al Guido, vice president for new stadium sales and service with the...

Image 7 of 8

A graphic displays the 49ers' stadium location at the team's New Stadium Preview Center in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

A graphic displays the 49ers' stadium location at the team's New...

Image 8 of 8

Renderings of the 49ers stadium design are displayed at the team's New Stadium Preview Center in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011.

Season tickets for the 49ers' new stadium are selling like hotcakes, even though we're not talking about IHOP pricing.

The most expensive 1,000 seats in No Name Yet Stadium will cost $375 per game - plus $80,000 for a life-of-the-stadium license to buy that one seat. Those 1,000 seats are nearly sold out.

"It's going extremely well," said Al Guido, vice president of sales and marketing for Legends, the 49ers' stadium marketing firm, when asked about the overall sales picture. He added, "We're really, really pleased with the reaction of season-ticket holders."

Of course, it's still early in the game. Only the choicest 9,000 of the 68,500 seats have been offered to current season-ticket holders, and not all of those seats have been snapped up. The excitement likely will build with Thursday's ground-breaking ceremony for the $1.2 billion stadium in Santa Clara, adjacent to California's Great America.

Maybe the 49ers will pull this off, build their stadium and fill it with roaring fans happy to pay the tab for the new digs. But missing from that glorious party will be Henry Gross and his extended family, faithful and loyal season-ticket holders since 1950.

Gross, 66, listened to the 49ers' sales pitch. His four 50-yard-line seats at Candlestick would become four not-quite-so-sweetly-placed seats. And instead of the current $129 per seat, he would pay $350 per, plus $30,000 each for seat licenses.

No deal, Gross said, with a heavy heart and a touch of resentment.

Gross, because of his ticket seniority and the depth of his passion for the team, is an eloquent spokesperson for the folks who don't like the new deal. The 49ers are hoping Gross is part of a small minority.

Guido, authorized to speak for the team, said, "Almost 70 percent of the people (who have heard the presentation) have done something, bought club seats or put down a deposit to be placed in line to be able to purchase a reserved seat."

Unhappy fans

Whatever their numbers, the unhappy fans are out there. Either they can't afford the new stadium prices or they believe that 49ers' ownership has upped the ante beyond logic or reason.

"The sentimental side of me says, yes, absolutely (buy seats in the new stadium), even if I had to mortgage my entire estate," Gross said. "But the realistic side of me says, why would I do that? So I can tell someone I'm now 65 years as a season-ticket holder? I love and cherish that, but nobody in my family, and none of my friends, think it's a good investment. Not even the ones that I take to games.

"I took (the 49ers' proposal) to two people I'm close to, guys who are much wealthier than I am. They had been season-ticket holders in the past. I asked each, independently, would they like the rights? Is it a good deal? Both of them told me it's horrible."

Runs in the family

Gross' fan credentials are platinum. He grew up in New Jersey, but his father's business had headquarters in San Francisco. Dad and his two cousins had eight season seats at Kezar Stadium, starting in 1950. The 49ers mailed out photos and calendars, and 5-year-old Henry's bedroom in New Jersey became a shrine to a team 3,000 miles away.

Gross attended some games at Kezar over the years, but until he moved to the Bay Area in 2001 he mostly rooted in enemy territory, over the years attending nearly every 49ers' game within 500 miles of New Jersey.

"And that was even in the days when Joe Thomas was general manager," Gross said, referring to the team's lackluster performance in the 1970s.

Gross, who works in the retail and restaurant world, spent two years inside 49ers' headquarters, consulting on a retail project. He got to know coaches and administrators and came to feel even more a part of the 49ers family.

He never misses training camp, where he studies details, making his own roster cuts. He and his family traveled to four 49ers Super Bowls, and the fifth they watched as a family from Gross' hospital bedside.

Gross' wife, Nancy, is a fan, as are his two sons, David and Arthur. His father's cousin, Sigmund Milford, the last of the original ticket holders, died last year at 96. The day before he died, Milford asked his wife to phone Henry with an urgent message: Get word to 49ers' center Jonathan Goodwin that he is placing his feet improperly.

Gross and one son listened to the 49ers' sales pitch on the opening day of presentations in January. They were told they had 10 days to exercise their rights to buy club seat licenses, or lose the rights. The deadline was subsequently extended.

Gross says he gave it serious consideration but could not justify the price tag.

An option, also rejected by Gross thus far: Deposit $500 per seat to reserve a place on the waiting list for cheaper seats, yet to be priced.

No sense of loyalty

An element Gross said he found lacking in the sales deal was a sense of loyalty rewarded, or at least recognized. He suggested to his sales rep that the 49ers throw a bone to the original Kezar ticket holders. Maybe for that group, the 49ers could waive their license fees for 10 years and seat them together in a special section. They would pay full price for tickets, but maybe toss in free parking.

Gross said such a gesture might have been enough to sway him, but the sales rep said he wouldn't even know how to present the idea to the 49ers.

When asked about fan backlash over the steep price increase, Guido said, "I certainly empathize and understand that club seats aren't for everyone. I think when we went into this process, we knew there were some season-ticket holders that, unfortunately, might not be able to afford a club seat option in the new stadium - and I've told them this, that we've only priced 13 percent of the stadium. The remainder won't go on sale until June. I tell people to reserve judgment on whether they can purchase tickets in the new building. I do believe there will be a price point for every fan."

But, as Gross pointed out, "The great fans aren't all multi-millionaires."

Big thumbs down

Even some who are don't buy the new deal. A money manager interviewed for this story said he attended a sales presentation for a client who has been a primo season-ticket holder for several decades. The money manager gave his client an emphatic thumbs-down.

"It's not a matter of can he afford it," said the money manager, requesting anonymity to protect his client's privacy. "It's a matter of being offended by it. I hope the 49ers succeed, but not on the backs of anyone I know."

And not on the back of Gross, even though he has a grandson and saw those tickets as a family legacy.

"Don't think I didn't cry over this, because I did," said Gross. "When I told my sons of my decision, I choked up."

I asked Gross how he will feel when the 49ers open their new stadium with great pomp and fanfare, but without him and his family and friends.

"Not good," Henry Gross said, somberly. "I'm not going to feel good. I think my boys are both going to be OK with it, but they both feel bad for me. My younger son says, 'What are you getting for your 62 years of loyalty?' "

New stadium ticket facts

Sales: The 49ers intend to sell each of the 68,500 seats as a season ticket, with a life-of-the-stadium seat license called a Stadium Builder's License.

Old stadium: Candlestick Park seats 68,000, every seat a season ticket. There are about 16,000 separate account holders. There is no seat license fee.

Club seats: For sales of club seats (the best 9,000 seats), the 49ers say every current seat holder is being offered a comparably placed seat in the new stadium, or the option of placing a $500 deposit on less expensive seating, once it is priced.

Seat license installments: A seat license is interest free if paid off by the 2014 season. A 10 percent deposit is due at signing and another 10 percent due each of the next two years. The remainder can be financed privately, or through the 49ers at 8.5 percent.

Top amenities: The top-level club seats (1,000 best seats, with $80,000 licenses) come with free parking, food considerations, guaranteed access to all events - including concerts and Super Bowls - and access to a field-level grass patio between the 30-yard lines.

Source: Chronicle research

New stadium facts

Capacity: The new stadium will seat about 68,500.

Club seats: The best 9,000 seats will be designated club seats. The top 1,000 will cost $80,000 for a seat license, and the tickets will be $375 per game. Other club seat levels: $30,000/$350 and $20,000/$325.

Seat licenses: They are good for the life of the building. Per-game prices are locked in for five years.